exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait

many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunami

Geography Note

strategic location in northeast Asia

Industry

Pop Culture

Japanese films, music videos, and fashion trends contribute greatly to Asian Pop Culture, and is very influential on other parts of the world. J-Pop, J-Rock, J-Punk, J-R&B, J-Hip-Hop, J-Urban, J-Jazz, J-Tek, and J-Fusion are all music genres that were founded here. The Gothic Lolita style was also founded in Japan. There is also AV stars and Gravure idols.

Entertainment

Automobiles

18% of all Car Manufacturers are Japanese Companies. Japanese Brands distinguish themselves through their high Quality and Reliability. Toyota is winner of the JD Power Report (Distinction for most content customers) and Mazda is winner of this years Quality Report (Distinction for highest Quality, Reliaility and best Manufacturing).

Origins

Name "Japan"

In western languages, the country is called Japan (English), Japon (French; pron Japong), Japan (German; pron. Yapan). But Japanese people call their country Nihon or Nippon (Japanese: 日本). The difference between these two pronunciations is easy to explain: the first character (meaning "sun") is pronunced "ni" in Japan but "ji" in China. The second character (meaning "origin") is pronunced "hon" in Japan but "pen" in China. So the Japanese pronunciation of the characters for "Japan" is "Nihon" as opposed to Chinese pronunciation of "Jipen." Western countries first traded with China, because Japan had closed its borders at that time. So European people called the country "Japan" after the Chinese pronunciation "Jipen."